Timing and audience. The folks wading through floodwaters couldn’t care less about your first-person story about getting punched in the face while helping an airline steward to subdue a rowdy passenger.

Word choice. Elie Wiesel survived the Holocaust, was a tireless advocate for world peace, won a Nobel Prize and other honors. How many adjectives do you detect in any of his written or spoken messages? His recollections and insights capture and transfix, like a rock to the head, without qualifiers.

Content and presence. The Dali Lama, Desmond Tutu, the pope and Oprah – fill hearts and arenas, their presence transcending and empowering their messages. They make memories. What presence do you bring to the podium or a book cover? What aura do your body language and cadence lend to your story?

I’m John Taylor. I’ve made a career from cultivating ideas, translating them and using the product to entertain, inform and empower audiences. I’ve done so as corporate public relations executive, newspaper reporter and editor, and public speaker. As a consultant, I advise clients on reaching clarity, precision, and potency in their communications.